X
- 1982
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1982
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
Summary Detective Jack Cates (Nolte) takes convict Reggie Hammond (Murphy) out of jail for forty-eight hours to solve a case.
Directed By: Walter Hill
- 1982
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1982
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
48 Hrs.
71
7.1
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Summary Detective Jack Cates (Nolte) takes convict Reggie Hammond (Murphy) out of jail for forty-eight hours to solve a case.
Directed By: Walter Hill
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
71
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
71
88% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Together Cates and Hammond take a thrill-a-minute trip through the San Francisco underworld and along the way develop one of the 1980s' more interesting cinematic buddy pairings.
By Staff (Not Credited) FULL REVIEW
What makes the movie special is how it's made. Nolte and Murphy are good, and their dialogue is good, too - quirky and funny.
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 98 User Ratings
7.1
71% Positive
70 Ratings
70 Ratings
26% Mixed
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 98 User Ratings
7.1
71% Positive
70 Ratings
70 Ratings
26% Mixed
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Aug 31, 2010
An Eddie Murphy classic. Is this movie going to change the way we view life??? No. But it will keep you laughing and nervous at the same time and that is a delicate balance, one highly underrated. I like to rate films within their genre. And for its genre it is at least a 9 !!!!
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Apr 6, 2025
From Eddie Murphy's early days, when he was actually funny and didn't hog screen time. The cop action formula is pretty familiar and yet it has enough to entertain for its 96 minutes of running time.
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Walter Hill, the director of such beautiful but stilted tough guy movies as ''The Warriors'' and ''The Long Riders,'' has attempted something very different in 48 Hours a male-buddy action film that's positively witty and warm-hearted compared with his other work.
A quick and clever thriller as nasty as a piece of shrapnel snapping the sound barrier, 48 Hrs. is as violent as it is funny. It is very funny. [03 Dec 1982]
48Hrs. is a very efficient action entertainment which serves as a showy motion picture debut for Eddie Murphy.
By Staff (Not Credited) FULL REVIEW
The film is still an entertaining and invigorating thriller, with a structure and some curious sexual overtones that suggest Howard Hawks's "A Girl in Every Port."
Neither jokes nor fast, flashy action can completely distract audiences from the failure to establish an authentic, rather than a purely conventional connection between Nolte and Murphy.
Mar 18, 2020
Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy star in this 1982 action comedy. Directed by Walter Hill (Red Heat) it is a pretty simple piece of film making with a simple story. The story is some criminal escapes and a cop, Jack Cates (Nolte) releases some convict from prison named Reggie Hammond (Murphy) to help Cates catch the criminal. What Reggie's connection to Ganz the criminal is in the movie I've never figured out and I've seen 48 He's a million times lol. The connection is actually very unclear but anyway the criminal is played by James Remar and Sonny Landham is part of his gang, sadly Sonny Landham is dead in real life so R.I.P to him. So what 48 Hrs delivers in terms of entertainment is a few things, a story to think about because all of it's not 100% clear besides the obvious and a great fight scene between cop and convict as Murphy and Nolte have a fistfight on the street lol. The comedy is fairly decent and some scenes are funny especially when Eddie Murphy says to Nolte you've treated me like crap and I want some food and the next thing you know Nolte says to Murphy "There's ya god damn dinner!!" after taking a candybar out of a vending machine which is hilarious. Some good shooting scenes but sadly no explosions, 48 Hrs isn't big on violence but the violence it has is fairly decent allowing for the characters to develop and the story to be more involved rather than being flooded with blood and guts. Great performances and great acting especially from Annette O'Toole as 48 Hrs remains an action classic and decent comedy.
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Aug 21, 2023
Back to the old school. Love this movie. This is when cop movies started to have some comedy in it.
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Aug 17, 2022
A lot has not seemingly aged well in terms of the racial and homophobic language, especially when the lead you are supposed to be rooting for is doing it. Greatly enjoyed the performances. Was mentally unprepared for a young dark haired Jonathan Banks.
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Oct 4, 2020
Le film de "potes" que tout oppose, qui ne sont pas potes mais qui le deviennent par la force des choses (et des vannes) parce qu'à la fin du script, il est écrit que chacun gagne le respect mutuel de l'autre, une sorte de prototype du vivre ensemble en somme. Bien sûr, le flic blanc et le détenu noir réunis à l'insu de leur plein gré sont l'occasion pour le film d'exploiter tous les clichés possibles ("négro" et "face de craie", taulard et flicard) qui tombent rapidement dans la répétition et la lourdeur, d'autant que les deux acteurs surjouent plus qu'à leur tour et en font des tonnes. On a donc d'une part, Nick Nolte qui incarne le beauf bourrin comme on en fait plus, millésime 1982, et d'autre part l'agité Eddie Murphy dont la gouaille vulgaire a fait le succès par la suite. Le film est donc souvent bas de plafond... mais de temps en temps assez violent avec les fusillades réglementaires lors de la traque récurrente du vilain méchant évadé et de son vilain complice. Le film reste globalement trop mollasson et végète dans sa gentille satire bas de gamme où tout le monde se chambre et s'insulte plus ou moins joyeusement -en dehors même de nos deux petzouilles entre eux- car tout le monde est de mauvaise humeur dans cette ville de blaireaux. C'est filmé correctement (pas comme les polars de maintenant) et la chouette musique de James Horner est efficace. Mais on déplore trop de chutes de rythme, le duo s'essouffle et commence à meubler en attendant que les scénaristes cocaïnomanes trouvent une idée pour conclure ce navet de luxe, certes, mais un gros navet quand même !
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Production Company
- Paramount Pictures
- Lawrence Gordon Productions
Release Date Dec 8, 1982
Duration 1 h 36 m
Rating R
Tagline When a tough cop has a cool convict as a partner and 48 hrs to catch a killer, a lot of funny things can happen in . . . 48 HRS. [Australia Theatrical]
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Cognac Festival du Film Policier
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
